Six candidates running for Oklahoma governor took the stage Tuesday evening at The University of Tulsa to highlight their campaign priorities. During the forum hosted by the Tulsa Press Club, the main issues on the table were education, public health, state taxes and economic development.
Republican candidates in attendance included Attorney General Gentner Drummond, former New Mexico City Manager Leisa Mitchell Haynes, former Secretary of Public Safety Chip Keating, former House Speaker Charles McCall and former state Sen. Jake Merrick. State House Democratic Leader Cyndi Munson was the sole Democrat to attend the forum, moderated by Tulsa Press Club President Jason Collington.
Candidates introduced different strategies on the function of government spending, but one thing they all agreed with was the need to invest in education throughout the state.
Some touted their willingness to work with President Donald Trump in finding solutions to the issues at hand. Trump’s endorsement went to former state Sen. Mike Mazzei, who did not attend the debate.
The gubernatorial primary is set for June 16. You can find more information on our voter guide. Here are some key takeaways from Tuesday’s forum. A second event focused on the state superintendent race is set for Thursday.
Education is a top priority for all
The one topic all six candidates on the stage agreed on is Oklahoma needs to enhance its education system. Drummond says Oklahoma is better than its education rankings, which is among his main priorities. Last year, a study ranked the state as 50th in education.
“We are better than 50th,” Drummond said before the crowd. “We need to increase the capacity for working families to put their children into quality day care so they have the same advantage as our affluent parents.”
Keating agreed and added the funding formula for public education needs to be fixed. A first good step, he said, was the legislature passing the 2027 fiscal budget bill that invested tens of millions toward education initiatives, including reading and math programs as well as teacher benefits and pay raises.
“We need to pay teachers more. We need to have outcomes, we need more dollars in the classroom,” Keating said.
Addressing public education is an area where Republicans and Democrats can work together, Munson added. That gives her hope.
“Oklahomans want us to focus on public education and we know how public education can transform a child’s life,” she said.
Taxes and economic development
One of Keating’s goals is eliminating the income tax. He said he believes that starts with “right-sizing” Oklahoma’s government.
The state needs “to be weary” of data centers and the amount of resources they require, Keating said. He advocated the state use its natural gas “behind the meter” instead of a data power grid that could have a domino effect on utility costs.
“We need to grow our economy, we need jobs in Oklahoma if we are going to advance to the next chapter in our country. But we also need natural gas turbine manufacturing in our state,” Keating said.
McCall said the push for more jobs and increasing revenue in the state are good problems to have. Oklahoma was once the oil capital of the world, and McCall argued the reason it is not now is because of the current income tax rate.
“This is why I’m so passionate about changing our tax structure,” he said. “We have got to get to zero on our personal income tax in this state.”
Public health
Drummond says Oklahoma cannot afford to lose any more hospitals. At least 10 hospitals have closed in Oklahoma in the last decade, which has primarily impacted rural areas. He says he hopes to appoint people in charge of agencies to fix that problem.
Haynes noted her time as a city manager and the struggle of not having enough health professionals to staff medical centers.
“I know rural health is a big issue,” Haynes said.
She plans to work on bringing better health care to rural communities, and she hopes to work with the White House on improving health care options for veterans.
Merrick said he believes Oklahoma is depending on a “sick care model” and people end up becoming dependent on accumulating debt as they get older. The root of the issue is changing people’s lifestyle choices, he said. He wants to change Oklahoma’s culture and produce better food quality and options for young people.
“We have adopted this mentality that you just accept after a certain age you will have to live on a handful of bills. But I think we can reject that,” Merrick said. “We have to start looking at our land, our air, our water and clean it up.”
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